Riyadh , Saudi Arabia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Nayef bin Abdulaziz , Saudi Arabia 's interior minister , has been named the new crown prince of the key oil-producing nation , ascending at a time of regional turmoil amid the populist Arab Spring movement and simmering international issues involving Iran and other neighbors .

The news , following a royal decree signed by King Abdullah , was announced early Friday on state-run Saudi Television . The official Saudi Press Agency reported that the decree was issued the previous evening .

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud , the king 's half-brother , died in a New York hospital on Saturday after being ill for some time . His funeral was held three days later in Riyadh .

As was the case with his predecessor , the move makes Nayef bin Abdulaziz the heir to the Saudi throne .

He will assume his new post at a tension-filled time in the Arab world .

The longtime leaders of Tunisia , Egypt and Libya have fallen in recent months during the so-called Arab Spring , while those in Yemen , Syria and elsewhere are holding on to power despite continuing popular unrest .

Violence remains a problem in neighboring Iraq , as well as Afghanistan . Iran , a longtime rival of the Saudi royal family 's , is still at odds with much of the international community over its nuclear program , among other issues .

Before the announcement , Nayef had been considered a likely successor to his brother as crown prince . He was named in 2009 as second deputy prime minister , a post held by the second in line to the throne .

Nayef has served as the Saudi interior minister since 1975 , having overseen the kingdom 's counterterrorism efforts .

Saudi Arabia is one of the only countries that has truly dismantled a domestic al Qaeda network , said Christopher Boucek , a Saudi expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace .

`` Nayef is widely seen as a hard-line conservative who , at best , is lukewarm to King Abdullah 's reform initiatives , '' read a classified U.S. Embassy cable leaked by the website WikiLeaks .

In addition to his new title , Nayef will remain interior minister , according to Friday 's announcement . The Saudi Press Agency noted that he also has been appointed deputy premier , meaning he will officially hold three positions in the Saudi government .

He and others met Thursday with a U.S. delegation that included Vice President Joe Biden , CIA Director David Petraeus and Sen. John McCain .

Ascension to the Saudi throne is kept within the royal family , though it does not pass from father to son . Instead , it 's a complex process , and decisions in the conservative kingdom are often cloaked in secrecy .

Nayef 's appointment follows the first-ever convening of the Allegiance Council , which the king established in 2006 to discuss and allow for more transparency on succession issues .

The king made his decision after receiving their input . Afterward , Abdullah instructed Nayef 's fellow princes to pledge allegiance to him as the new crown prince .

CNN 's Rima Maktabi contributed to this report .

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NEW : Other princes were told , by the king , to pledge allegiance to Nayef , state media says

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NEW : Besides being crown prince , Nayef also will be deputy premier and interior minister

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A leaked U.S. Embassy cable described Nayef as a `` hard-line conservative ''

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The previous crown prince died Saturday in New York